More than 74,000 signatures have been registered on an online petition within six days after it was launched against the sentence received by a molester from the National University of Singapore.

The online petition is calling for signers to take a stand against "favouritism" for sex offenders.

When was petition started?

The petition was started on Thursday, Sep. 26, 2019.

The convicted molester, Terence Siow Kai Yuan, 23, who is an NUS student, received his sentence the day before.

What are the recent developments?

The State Courts subsequently said a copy of the judge's comments was not available, when a request was made by CNA to obtain it after Siow's sentencing.

On Friday, the Attorney-General's Chambers said it has filed an appeal to the High Court in relation to Siow's sentence.

"We are unable to comment further as the matter is before the courts," said a spokesperson.

The appeal was backed by law and home affairs minister K Shanmugam.

The appeal and its outcome is now being closely watched by Singaporeans who have reacted negatively en masse.

What has NUS done?

NUS said formal sanctions have been carried out and it convened a disciplinary board in October 2018.

The formal sanctions included suspension of candidature and mandatory counselling, and these form part of Siow's formal educational record at the university.

What was the molester's punishment?

On Sep. 25, Siow was sentenced to probation for molesting a 28-year-old woman at an MRT station.

The 23-year-old student was charged with using criminal force with intent to outrage the modesty of his victim.

Siow was sentenced to 21 months of supervised probation with certain conditions and has to perform 150 hours of community service, we well as attend an offence-specific treatment programme.

His parents also put up S$5,000 bond to ensure their son's good behaviour during probation.

The penalties for using criminal force to outrage the modesty of a person is a maximum jail term of two years, fine, caning, or any combination of these punishments.

Judge's comments

The New Paper reported that District Judge Jasvender Kaur rejected the prosecution's call for a custodial sentence.

The judge also reportedly described Siow's offences as "minor intrusions".

She said that the probation report found him suitable for probation, as his academic results showed he had the "potential to excel in life".